Brian Eno has won what is arguably the world’s biggest electronic music prize, receiving €10,000 (£8,000) for his lifetime of “musical transgressions and … innovative thinking in the field of internet and sound installation”. The Giga-Hertz award for electronic music, presented by German broadcaster SWR and the ZKM Institute for Music and Acoustics, has previously been awarded to electronic music composers like Pierre Boulez, Pauline Oliveros and Jonathan Harvey.

Eno accepted the award as part of a gala at Karlsruhe’s Imatronic festival on 29 November. ZKM director Peter Weibel called Eno a “mastermind of the recording studio”, hailing his ability to tailor “musical clothes” for other artists, according to Deutsche Welle.

In his speech, Eno thanked the Baden-Württemberg government. By endowing prizes such as Giga-Hertz award, he reportedly said, officials are staving off the free-market austerity that afflicts the United Kingdom’s arts scene. “In Germany, I feel good,” he said in an interview with Mittelbayerische. “The breakfast here is delicious.”

Eno also described the central role that singing occupies in his life. “Singing is among the best things in life,” he explained. “In England, I’ve been singing in an a-cappella group for 16 years. We don’t do any concerts or take pictures - it’s about the fun of it.” He also expressed enthusiasm for his new music installation at Barcelona’s Fundació Tàpies. “I’m working on a song that you can enter … [With] 40 different speakers that [create] a walk-song-space.” Eno has previously stated that this new piece, The Ship, is an attempt to unite the “three different threads of [his] career: the creation of pop music, with songs; creating ambient music, without lyrics; and installations”.

While Eno was the recipient of the 2014 Giga-Hertz grand prize, production awards of €5,000 were also presented to Spanish composer Lula Romero, Brazilian composer Giuliano Obici, and Danish sound artists Camilla Sorensen and Greta Christensen, AKA VinylTerror & -Horror.